The Warmest Dream
by nezumihaijin
Summary: Chapter 4 finally up! Kouji can't stop arguing with Takuya, but he can't figure out why. Hints of Takouji and Junichi, with more to come later!
1. Chapter 1

This fic was first published in 2003 by me, nezumihaikaishi. At the time, my pen-name was Kioko of Grunge. I don't know if anyone remembers the story, but it was called "The Warmest Dream". The first version was wildly out of character and choppy, not to mention everything else that was wrong with it. I love the story, but I hate the way it was written, so I am writing a new version, which is this one right here.

I'm still the same author (look at my profile, I explained a little bit more on there), but I have grown up somewhat and I want to give the story a second chance.

So, all of that stuff aside, here is the first chapter of The Warmest Dream, revamped and rewritten.

(And yes, I will try to finish it this time.)

--

Takuya cherished what little time he could snag nowadays. He loved the others in the group, true, but he couldn't get over the fact that it was like having five siblings and three pets. Nevermind that the "house" they all shared was infinitely huge. He never had any time to himself anymore.

Of course, there was no point in having time to yourself if there was nothing to do.

At the moment, Kanbara Takuya was tossing his Digivice in the air and catching it in rhythm with his walking. He didn't have a destination in mind, except somewhere quiet, peaceful, and free of Koujis.

Takuya had been thinking about Kouji quite a bit.

Sure, Kouji appeared to have improved. He had every indication of turning out to be not-a-bastard, despite what everyone had originally thought. They had found his twin brother, the one he had never known existed, and the two of them usually spent their spare time happily getting to know each other. They watched each other's backs in a fight and probably dreamed happy dreams about each other at night.

It wasn't that Takuya was jealous.

It was just that the person that he had been working with for so long, who he had adapted to, who he had learned to put up with and whose quirks he had learned to tolerate (painstakingly: Kouji wasn't an easy book to crack) was now a little less into planning strategy with Takuya and a little more into spending time with his brother.

It was acceptable. Of course it was acceptable. If he had found Shinya after years of separation, they probably would've been just as chummy. And they were twins, making their bond all the more enigmatic. Takuya had never had a twin himself, so he couldn't be sure if that was true, but with the way they acted it probably was.

He just got frustrated planning things out by himself, that was all. Nothing more.

Walking along, Takuya saw a large tree just on the border of the forest. 'That looks like a nice spot,' he thought, changing his pace and direction to head over to the tree. It was early afternoon, the sun not quite overhead, and a nap in the shade would be a relaxing change after walking everywhere for the past month.

Takuya put his Digivice in his pocket and sat down between two of the tree's roots. He lazily slouched against the trunk and put his gloved hands behind his head.

"Ah... This is much better."

The was a soft breeze, and a leaf shook itself loose from the lower branches of the tree, landing on Takuya's nose. He snorted.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

Takuya brushed the leaf away and returned to his relaxing. He would have to remember to head back to the others soon; he didn't want to leave them on their own for too long, or else they might start to worry. He trusted Kouji and Kouichi to keep their heads, but if the whole gang went looking for him there was no guaranteeing that he would ever catch up with them.

Just a short nap, nothing else. He had plenty of time.


	2. Chapter 2

Geez, only a three page chapter and it took me how long to write this? Ten months? Man, I suck.

Anyway, this chapter is longer than the original second chapter was. And it's also better. I guess that almost makes the shortness manageable. My idea of a "long" chapter back in the day was about this length. XD That's embarrassing now.

--

Something, or someone, was shaking him, and there was a bright orange light flooding through his eyelids every time he tried to open them. He had been having such a nice nap too.

"Takuya," the someone was saying, "Stop being so lazy. Takuya!"

Oh, Takuya realized, the someone was Kouji, and the orange light was the sun setting.

"Leave me 'lone, Kouji," Takuya said, but he got up anyway, scratching somewhere on his back and yawning. "Time 'sit, anyway?"

"It's dinner time," Kouji replied, "And I had to be the one to come get you because everyone else is eating."

"Eating? _Dinner_? And I'm still here? How long was I asleep?" Takuya cried, frantically brushing leaves off himself, "Why didn't you come earlier?"

"I didn't think it was necessary."

"Well, heck," said Takuya, looking for his Digivice, "Let's go then. Where's my...?"

"Right here," answered Kouji, holding up the red object that matched his own.

"Right," said Takuya. He made a grab for it, but Kouji dodged easily out of the way. "Stop messing around! You know I'm hungry, and you're taking advantage of it!"

Kouji raised an eyebrow and pushed the other boy lightly aside as he came towards him.

"What if I were an enemy who had stolen your Digivice, instead just me messing around?" he asked. Takuya frowned.

"Well, considering that I've helped you in the past, I would hope that you and the others would come to help me..."

Kouji laughed and tossed the Digivice back to Takuya, who, by some stroke of luck and stunt-double genius, caught it.

"Don't nap so much," Kouji said, "You'll get slow."

"No way! I'll race you back to the others!"

"You'll lose..."

"In your dreams!"

Takuya was not one to lose, and Kouji was not one to back down a challenge. The two of them were neck and neck as they tore through the woods back to where the rest of the Chosen Children were having their dinner.

-

Takuya devoured his allotment of meat apples almost the instant that he sat down by the edge of the fire. Juice dripping down his chin, he savored the last bites of a particularly good beef-flavored fruit.

Just out of his line of vision, he knew Junpei was snacking on a candy bar, stocking up on sugar for the night watch. Izumi and Tomoki, the most exuberant of the group, had worn themselves out during the day and were already sleeping. Kouichi was wandering aimlessly around by himself. Takuya knew this because he had almost run into the older boy as he triumphantly dove into the clearing at the end of his race with Kouji.

Across the fire, Kouji was watching him eat with what looked like amusement on his face.

"Wha' shoo lookin' at?" Takuya said, his mouth still full of apple. Kouji snorted.

"You," he said, "You look ridiculous."

"I told you I was hungry," Takuya replied, tossing the core of the meat apple aside, "Can't a guy eat in peace without someone staring at him?"

"Not when you eat like _that_."

Takuya snorted in mock indignation. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, stood up, stretched. Junpei was on guard duty tonight, and for the first time in a couple days he was going to get a good night's sleep. Days and nights of constant vigilance may have sounded like a romantic concept back before he was any kind of hero, but in reality it was just tiring. Now, with a stomach full of meat apples and a few other Digital World delicacies, he was more than ready to turn in.

Kouji yawned as he watched Takuya stretch.

"I'm tired," he said.

"It _is_ nightfall."

"I wasn't tired last night."

Kouji looked tired. Of course, with the amount of fighting that had been going on recently, everyone was exhausted, but Kouji hadn't been able to sleep the night before. While everyone else slept, he had gotten up to take a walk, trying to sneak past Takuya, who was supposed to be on guard but had actually been catnapping.

"Well, I'm turning in," Takuya said, "I want to continue my nap."

Kouji snorted.

"It's your fault if you wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back asleep."

"No, trust me, I'm _tired_. You should sleep too. I heard you walking around last night."

Takuya watched Kouji's face for any sign of surprise, but if anything, Kouji just looked more fatigued. He stared into the fire for a long time, his eyes shining in the light. Takuya stared back at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Finally, Kouji spoke.

"I think I'm going to go talk with Kouichi first. He said he had something to ask me."

Relieved at the broken silence, Takuya flopped down near the fire. He pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around himself.

"Fine, but _I'm_ gonna get some sleep."

"Suit yourself."

Kouji left, leaving a now mysteriously sleepless Takuya by the fire.

--

This probably means that this story will have more chapters than the original one had planned, which was fifteen. Think twenty.

...Oh yeah. Does anyone actually think I can do it? XD I don't really believe in myself.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Writing dialogue for this chapter almost broke my brain. Being an older teenage girl, I was having a hard time writing as two younger teenage boys and making it sound realistic, even if they are more mature than average kids. I'm still not happy with it. I am really hung up on that aspect of the story because that's one of the worst parts of the original. The guys all sounded like girls, especially when talking about love.

So basically I'm saying, please, please, _please_ tell me if they're OOC. I'm eating up all the Frontier episodes I can find on YouTube (for lack of better resources), and trying to find some decent sites to research from. Everyone either has info on Adventure or Savers... there's a terrible lack of serious Frontier or Tamers sites. It's all fansites and blogs out there.

Oh, and thank you to all the people who have reviewed so far: takuya, FairyofTwilight, Tohruismyoneechan, christineLSL, Takuyafan , and especially TerrierLee, who has been here forever and who read the original from the beginning! D Special thanks to my best friend/ beta/ sack of cheerleaders, Kuro-kun (miyomiyo/ Tayasotakoda), and to Zoel (karasu430), who both made sure the dialogue wasn't all whack.

On with chapter three!

--

Kouji was fond of looking at the stars. Sometimes at night when he couldn't sleep, he would wander off to a spot with a good view and just relax. This would usually help.

Back at home, he used to glance up at the sky every once in a while, to remember no matter where he was, there was still the same clouds, the same sun, the same deep blue. Now, looking up at the stars, he was reminded of home. It was strange how even though this was a different world, the stars were still the same, even if the night sky did have three moons.

It was Kouichi who had started him doing this, partially because he also had a habit of doing it, but mostly because his twin brother also reminded him of home.

Kouji knew Kouichi was in the place he called his "lookout" spot, a clear, high patch of ground with a good view of the landscape. He had told Kouji that he liked to go places like that to think, when the others were distracting him.

Sort of like Takuya and his long walks, except Kouichi's expeditions didn't usually end in a nap.

It seemed to Kouji like his twin had a gift for finding high ground. He reached the top of the hill and found Kouichi sitting with his back to him. It was a good lookout spot. In the little light that was left, Kouji could see a distance that was covered in trees, and just over their tops was a desolate black space that could only be another chunk of missing data. There weren't really many places left like the one where they were staying now. If they didn't hurry, even that would be gone forever.

Kouichi turned around, hearing Kouji's footsteps behind him, and smiled. He stood up to greet his brother. In the distance, the rumbling of a Trailmon could be heard.

"Hey," Kouichi said, "I almost thought you had decided to get some sleep after all."

Kouji shook his head. "No, I was just talking with Takuya. He hadn't eaten yet."

Kouichi nodded and sat back down. The silence, always comfortable around this time of evening, felt nervous and unnatural. Once again, Kouji heard the Trailmon.

Usually when they sat down to talk together, Kouichi would begin talking immediately. Kouji would listen as he described his life before and after he knew he had a brother, before and after he came to the Digital World.

As his twin talked, Kouji would often wonder how his life would have been different if they hadn't been separated. He wasn't used to having someone to listen to, so it was difficult at first to keep his mind from wandering, but if Kouichi minded he didn't show it.

Was it possible that today his brother had just run out of things to say?

Finally, Kouichi cleared his throat.

"So, who won earlier?"

"Huh?"

"The race. Who won, you or Takuya?"

"Oh," Kouji said, "Takuya won." He grinned and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. "He only beat me by a few centimeters. He took that dive at the end."

"It was close," agreed Kouichi.

They both looked up at the sky, now an even shade of deep blue. There were millions of stars.

"I was thinking," said Kouichi suddenly, "Why don't we talk about something other than the usual stuff?"

"Like what?" Kouji asked. He remembered that Kouichi still hadn't told him what he wanted to ask him earlier.

"Well, you could tell me about your day."

"You mean an average day back home?"

"No, this day now. The one that just ended."

"Nothing happened."

Kouji could tell from the way that Kouichi was looking at him that his response hadn't been what Kouichi had been looking for. This was why he preferred listening. There was a lot less guesswork involved in listening.

"Nothing at all worth talking about?"

Kouichi was reaching for something, but Kouji couldn't tell what.

"Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?" Kouji asked. Kouichi shrugged.

"We always talk about the past. Today we should talk about the present."

So his earlier guess had almost been right. He hadn't exactly run out of things to talk about, but he was tired of talking about the same old things. That made sense to Kouji, who didn't really understand why people liked talking about the past anyway.

"Okay, I guess," he said. This was harder than it seemed. "You know I couldn't sleep, right?"

Kouichi nodded. "Yes. You woke me up and tried to tell me something."

"And you fell back asleep."

"What was it?"

Kouji avoided Kouichi's inquisitive glance.

"Nothing. Just nighttime stuff, I guess. And Takuya was asleep on watch again... actually, Takuya--"

Kouji paused because he knew that he was about to say more than he wanted to. Not that it wouldn't be good for Kouichi to know what was on his mind, but he didn't normally tell _ anyone _things that made him upset. Even his own brother (_At this point,_ he reminded himself) was no exception.

Despite the fact that he and Takuya had been working together for months, they were arguing again. It seemed as if when they got closer, in both opinion and in their friendship, that their ability to make plans had taken a nosedive. As a reaction to the arguments they were having, both of them started to work with Kouichi instead of each other.

When they had first stopped to rest on the edge of the forest, Kouji had suggested that they draw up a plan for the next few days, Takuya had gotten frustrated and had stormed off to "relax", which apparently meant nap under a tree. Kouji had shouted after him that not coming up with a plan would be bad for everyone, but Takuya just shouted back that he would think of one later with Kouichi.

For some reason, that had made Kouji's stomach turn. He told himself it was frustration and went back to sit with Izumi, Tomoki, and Junpei, but he couldn't stop thinking about what Takuya had said.

Kouji hadn't really thought about it before, but Kouichi probably didn't like his unofficial position as a go-between either.

"Takuya is bothering me," he said.

Kouichi kept looking at him.

"What, you want me to elaborate?"

Kouichi shook his head.

"Didn't _you_ have something to tell _me_, anyway?" Kouji asked in annoyance. He yawned. For the first time in a few days he was actually feeling tired.

Kouichi smiled in a way that Kouji would have called shyly, if he had been talking about a girl and not his twin brother. It was a smile that suggested that he had a secret.

"I do," he said, looking out into the distance.

"So tell me already so I can go to bed," Kouji replied.

"Well, I... uh..." Kouichi said, his smile spreading into a grin, "Now that it comes down to it, this is harder to say then I thought it would be."

Kouji didn't like mystery or intrigue. Or being tired. If this had been anyone other than Kouichi, he probably would have lost his patience before the other person had gotten done questioning him about his day.

"I didn't really think about how it would feel to tell somebody a secret."

"If you tell me, you'll know how it feels."

Kouichi laughed. Although he could tell it was a nervous laugh, Kouji was relieved to have broken the tension.

"I guess I should tell you already then."

Kouji yawned again, "Yeah, you really should."

"I've never told anyone anything like this before."

"I know. You said that. What is it?"

"I like Junpei."

"Well, I... what?"

"I..."

Kouji almost stood up in surprise. He had been expecting Kouichi to stall some more. In fact, he hadn't really expected to hear any secret at all on account of his brother's stalling.

"We all like Junpei," was the first lame thing he could sputter out.

"I meant..."

"You like Junpei the way he likes Izumi," Kouji said, regaining some of his sense. Kouichi looked in every direction but his brother's.

"Yes, that was what I meant."

Kouji sighed, and knelt facing Kouichi. He stared at him until Kouichi finally stopped looking everywhere else.

"This is going to be a problem," Kouji said. Kouichi looked down again.

"I know that."

"You may like him, but he still likes Izumi, and we all still have to work together to defeat Lucemon, no matter what kind of problems we're having between ourselves."

Kouji had said that partially to himself. He thought about talking to Takuya in the morning. They could try to make a new plan, instead of fighting this time. There were things that were more important than pride sometimes.

"I know," Kouichi said. He stood up. "I'm going to go to bed."

"Me too," said Kouji, but he didn't get up. Now that he was thinking about talking with Takuya, he didn't feel like going back to sit by him. Plus, he had to think about what Kouichi had said, which he kept forgetting for some reason. Maybe the shock hadn't worn off yet.

"Um... thank you for listening to me," said Kouichi.

Kouji probably said "Hn", but he was lost in his thoughts and wasn't sure. Despite what he had said, he was not going to bed. Even watching the sky wasn't going to help him sleep tonight.

He understood why Kouichi had been so nervous about talking to him. He understood the uncomfortable silence now that had bothered him at the beginning of their conversation. What he didn't understand was why on earth his brother would pick the one person who was almost guaranteed not to return any sort of affection. Kouichi hadn't been with them for very long, but given the obvious nature of Junpei's feelings for Izumi, he should have known better.

And why did this make him think of Takuya?

The other boy would not get off his mind. No matter how hard he tried to concentrate on the problems at hand, there was Takuya's retreating back, Takuya's voice saying _I'll think of a plan later with Kouichi_. He thought about Takuya eating meat apples, Takuya sleeping under the tree, the look of surprise on Takuya's face when he realized that Kouji had stolen his Digivice.

And just then, looking at the stars, he thought he finally realized something.

--

The ending snuck up! XD Not for me though, since it took for freakin' ever to write and edit this thing. I blame capitalists and the weather.

A note that I didn't add at the beginning: Takuya and Kouji's views on their "problems" are not supposed to be consistent. I wrote it purposefully to be unclear as to who was the one to blame for the arguing, and if there is any arguing at all, in reality. This will get cleared up later, promise, but for now it is supposed to be murky.


	4. Chapter 4

Wow, it feels like it's been forever since I've even looked at this site. I've been really busy with school and studying… every day is like living in a Japanese machine. Add traveling, work, and parties to that… yeah. Excuses! XP

Anyway, there will be at least a couple more chapters before I disappear again.

Same as before, please, _please_ tell me if my dialogue is whack. I want to know. If Kouji sounds like a girl, if Takuya sounds like he's forty, if Kouichi sounds like your grandma, tell me! I'll fix it.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far… you guys keep reminding me to update, and eventually it will happen! XD

--

Since he couldn't sleep, Takuya decided to sit up and watch the fire die. How was it possible that the one night he couldn't sleep was the night that he _hadn't_ volunteered for night watch? He almost envied Junpei.

What felt like a half an hour after Kouji left, he heard footsteps behind him. Thinking that Kouji was returning, he turned around grinning, ready to make a joke about him being late. Instead, it was Kouichi who emerged from the forest; a very tired looking Kouichi who took a seat next to Takuya.

"Any meat apples left?" he asked. Takuya shook his head.

"Sorry, I thought you had eaten already. I would've saved a few if I had known that you hadn't."

"It's fine," Kouichi replied, "I had some earlier, but I gave a couple of mine to Tomoki. He said he was still hungry. I just wish I had a snack to eat before bed."

Takuya was still sort of hungry too, but he was used to it by now. Aside from meat apples, his experiences with Digital World food had not been pleasant and he would much rather be a little hungry then make burgers with Kouji again.

"Where's Kouji?" he asked abruptly. Kouichi looked behind him as if he was expecting to see his brother materialize out of the darkness.

"I don't know," he said, "He told me he was going to bed too. I hope he didn't decide to sleep at the lookout spot..."

"The where?"

"The place where we met up to talk... He'll probably be back in a few minutes."

Kouichi was probably right. Even Kouji wasn't stubborn enough to risk his own safety by sleeping far away from everyone else. He had been at first, but now that things had changed so much...

That reminded him.

"Hey, Kouichi?" Takuya asked, "If it's not too much trouble, would you like to draw up a plan with me for tomorrow? I sort of told Kouji I'd work one out with you, and we need to keep moving."

Kouichi nodded, "Sure."

"Great!" said Takuya. He moved so that he was opposite Kouichi and brushed off a spot of dirt to draw in. "So, we're here... and we need to get _here_..."

He felt Kouichi watching him as he drew. It made him feel a little silly to be drawing in the dirt, like a kid. He connected the two X's he had drawn with a line and looked at Kouichi. The other boy nodded.

"And, so... that's the plan so far," Takuya said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Kouichi just nodded again, looking at Takuya patiently.

This was nothing like planning with Kouji. By now, Kouji would have brought up that there were bound to be some obstacles between the two X's, and that no one ever travels in a straight line anyway, and that Takuya wasn't taking into account time or distance, just direction. Then Takuya would have erased the drawing and thrown dirt at him, and they would have ended up arguing. There was never a plan they made that didn't have its beginnings in some kind of disagreement.

But Kouichi didn't seem like he was planning to disagree with anything. Takuya knew him as a laid-back guy, but he had hoped that he would at least _help_ him a little, instead of just giving him a person to talk to.

It seemed like the only thing for Takuya to do would be to keep on talking and hope that something halfway useful would come out of his mouth. After all, what had he and the others done before Kouji? Resolutely, Takuya stuck his finger in the dirt and started drawing again.

The ground was soon covered with circles, X's, and dashed lines. The "plan" was complicated enough that even Takuya wasn't sure what he had drawn, but it basically amounted the team moving west towards the next town, hopefully part of the way by Trailmon. Or, at least that was what he thought he had come up with...

"So, first we'll have to clean things up around here and check our surroundings for traps or possible dangers, right?" asked Kouichi as Takuya was rechecking the drawing.

"I didn't think of that," said Takuya. Truthfully, he had thought of it, but had delegated it to the back of his mind since it really had nothing to do with actually _getting_ anywhere. All of them doing each thing together would take forever. The best thing to do would be to work in teams.

"We'll split up into groups in the morning," he said, "each group will take a different job."

Kouichi nodded. "That sounds good."

"Um, so who should the groups be? Me and Kouji should work together, naturally, but Izumi will think there's something wrong with our heads if we send her and Junpei off by themselves, so how about you work with Junpei and Izumi can work with Tomoki, Bokomon, and Neemon?"

Kouichi nodded, looking down at the ground.

"Alright, so it's all set for tomorrow! Kouji and I will look for danger, Izumi, Tomoki, Bokomon and Neemon will look for some supplies, and you and Junpei will clean up everything here. Then we'll meet back at... Kouichi? Is something wrong?"

Takuya stopped because Kouichi had looked up and was staring at him.

"Me and Junpei?"

"Yeah, I told you that before, weren't you listening?"

"Yes, but I was just wondering how you came up with that group."

Takuya scratched his head, "Well, I always work with Kouji, and I already told you why we can't put Izumi and Junpei together," he said, watching Kouichi. He had never really protested any of Takuya's decisions before, although most of the time that was because he was working with Izumi or Tomoki, both of whom he got along with well.

Maybe Kouichi just didn't like Junpei? It was possible. Kouji and Junpei hadn't gotten along very well at the beginning, and Kouichi_ was_ new and all... Maybe he had the hots for Izumi too, and couldn't stand being paired up with his rival. But before Takuya could propose a switch in the groups, Kouichi nodded again.

"I understand. You and Kouji..."

"I mean, it's not really important for me and Kouji to work together," Takuya interrupted, "We just always do, not that it always ends well, but we sort of work well together... mostly. Not that he wouldn't love to work with you too, since you're twins and all. Me personally, I could work with anyone, really, I just prefer... Kouji."

Kouichi stared.

"We just fit," Takuya finished defensively, "On a team, I mean."

"I wasn't arguing," Kouichi said, obviously confused.

"Oh," said Takuya. "So you're fine with this plan?"

"Yeah, it's a good plan," replied Kouichi.

Takuya sighed with relief. It hadn't been as hard as he had thought working on something without Kouji, for once. Maybe his leader instincts were kicking in, finally.

"Okay, so let's sleep, and then in the morning we can run this by everyone, make sure it makes sense and all…"

"Sure," said Kouichi.

Takuya nodded. As he started to sweep up the dirt drawing with his hands, he saw something moving out of the corner of his eye. On guard, he jumped to his feet.

"Who's there?"

"It's me, you idiot."

It was Kouji, which explained why Kouichi hadn't moved at all.

"Oh… hey," Takuya said, awkwardly sitting back down and continuing to clean up the plans.

"What are you doing? Weren't you both going to bed?" Kouji asked. He walked over and stood behind Takuya, watching him erase the writing in the dirt, "Ah, so you actually followed through with what you said earlier."

Takuya snorted, dusting off his hands on his pants and standing up.

"You expected me not to?" he asked, "It's not like I can just leave things up in the air."

Kouji stepped over the now smooth patch of dirt.

"I figured you were going to wait for me, that's all. I didn't think you were capable of doing something like this all by yourself," he said.

Takuya frowned.

"Kouichi helped me. And hey, I did plenty of planning before you even thought about joining up with us. Remember?"

"Not really, since I wasn't a part of the group yet."

"Well… I did," Takuya said lamely.

"Good for you," Kouji replied. Takuya couldn't see his face, but he was sure by Kouji's tone that he was sneering.

Kouichi cleared his throat, and Takuya jumped. He had almost forgotten he was there.

"Um, we should probably talk about this in the morning, after we've all gotten some rest…"

"Was that part of the plan?" Kouji asked, turning around to face Takuya, "You think of something and then fill me in on the basics in the morning?"

"No! Well, sort of…" Takuya said. He honestly hadn't thought of how to include Kouji in the plan, past telling him they would be working together in the morning.

Kouji and Kouichi exchanged a look, and the older twin shrugged.

"Look, me and Kouichi could tell you about it now, and..."

"I'm going to sleep," Kouji said, flatly. With that, he turned and walked away. Kouichi looked at Takuya, and with a shrug followed his brother, leaving the frowning Takuya standing there alone, more frustrated and sleepless than he had been before.

"What was that about, anyway?" he muttered, kicking the dirt where he had drawn up the plans. _Kouji _was the one who hadn't shown up to work on anything. Of course, Takuya had said that he was going to work with Kouichi earlier, so maybe that was why Kouji thought that he hadn't needed to talk to him? But that didn't make any sense, because if he hadn't been expecting Takuya to work on a plan with him, then why had he been angry when Takuya decided to work with his brother?

The whole thing was stupid, Takuya decided. Kouji was blowing everything out of proportion.

Takuya grumbled in frustration and sat down next to the fire again, staring at the dying flames.

-

Kouji wasn't sure why he had gotten so angry at Takuya. He and Kouichi had been planning on their own plenty of times recently, and it hadn't bothered him. Well, it had, but not enough for him to allow himself to get angry.

He turned over onto his back, staring at the stars. He couldn't sleep. He was tired, yes, but he couldn't sleep. Again. Maybe if he could get some sleep he wouldn't be so mad at Takuya.

He looked over at Kouichi, already asleep and looking perfectly comfortable. Kouji didn't understand how he did it. How could he sleep so well, with the all the things that were on his mind?

Frustrated, he flipped restlessly back and forth a few more times before finally getting up and stretching. Tonight looked to be turning out just like the last ones. No sleep… maybe he could keep Junpei company on guard duty.

As he walked towards the edge of the forest, he saw Takuya walk over from where the fire was still glowing. Takuya looked at him, but he quickly looked away and pretended to have not noticed him.

It was dark, and after several minutes, Kouji gave up on finding Junpei. He sat down against a tree, facing the group. He couldn't see Takuya walking around anymore; either it had gotten too dark or he had finally decided to go to sleep. He put his head down on his knees, tired of not being tired, of going over the same problems over and over in his head without being able to think of a solution.

Suddenly, Kouji heard crying. Surprised, he looked around. It couldn't be an enemy, he would have heard it approach. Any sort of Digimon would have to come through the woods, and if Junpei was keeping watch like he was supposed to be doing, he would catch it. It must have been one of the others.

Getting up and walking closer to the group, he could see someone shaking. He couldn't see too well, but it looked like it was Tomoki.

Kouji hadn't seen Tomoki cry since the very beginning of their time in the Digital World, when he hadn't even wanted to be there in the first place, before any of them had realized the importance of their journey.

Suddenly, Tomoki turned over and looked up, his eyes wide in the dark.

"Is someone there?" he asked.

"It's me," Kouji said, feeling a little silly.

"Oh, it's you, Kouji," Tomoki whispered, "I felt like something was watching me and I thought it might be a Digimon."

"I thought the same thing when I heard you," Kouji replied, sitting down in the grass next to the younger boy.

"Oh! I'm sorry I woke you up…" Tomoki said. Kouji shook his head.

"I wasn't sleeping. Is everything okay?" he asked.

Tomoki rubbed his eyes.

"I can't sleep," he said, "It's too cold."

"Cold?" Kouji asked, "It feels okay to me."

"That's because you have a jacket."

Kouji looked down stupidly at one of the long sleeves of his over-shirt. He hadn't really ever thought about it, since the weather wasn't normally anywhere near cold, but he didn't even need the jacket. This night didn't seem any different than the rest of them. If he could survive that disastrous boat ride to the north in just a t-shirt, he would probably be fine on a regular night.

"Here," he said, taking off his jacket and handed it to Tomoki, "You can wear it. It's sort of big…"

Tomoki wrapped the jacket around him, still rubbing his eyes with one hand. He looked at Kouji and smiled.

"Really?" he whispered.

"Sure. Just give it back in the morning."

Tomoki nodded, still smiling. "Yeah! Thanks, Kouji."

Kouji stood up. Walking back over to his tree, he looked over his shoulder. Tomoki was wrapped up in the jacket and was no longer shaking. Kouji couldn't help it; he smiled.

He felt a little better than before, certainly, even if the night still did appear to be turning out like the others. Sitting down under the tree again, however, Kouji felt as if the ground was a little colder than usual. It was probably just his head playing tricks on him. He felt cold now, but that was probably just because he wasn't used to not wearing his jacket. He'd be fine for the rest of the night. How bad could it be? Kouji put his head down on his knees and closed his eyes.

The next thing he knew, something was poking him sharply in the arm. Without looking up, he reached out and shoved it away.

"Alright, I'll leave you alone," said a voice next to him, "I didn't know you were asleep."

Kouji lifted his head up. Still dark. He couldn't have fallen asleep. Turning his head to face the person next to him, he blinked slowly until things came into focus. Not surprisingly, it was Takuya.

"I wasn't sleeping," he said.

"Yes, you were," Takuya replied, "You were snoring. I heard you."

"Why the hell would you wake me up then?" Kouji asked. He folded his arms on his knees and put his head back down.

"I saw what you did," Takuya said.

"So what? Go away."

"That was nice of you to give your jacket to Tomoki like that."

"It would be nice of you to leave me alone."

"Aren't you cold?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"If I say I'm cold, will you go away?"

"Probably not."

"Then I'm not cold."

"I was going to ask you if you wanted my jacket."

Kouji lifted his head up again and glared at Takuya.

"Then _you'll_ be cold, idiot."

Takuya shrugged.

"I don't get cold. I've got the fire spirit, remember?"

Kouji stared at Takuya for a long time before thrusting out one of his hands.

"Fine."

"Cool," Takuya said, taking off his red shirt.

"Don't blame me if you get cold and can't sleep later," Kouji said. He put the shirt on over his yellow t-shirt. It felt funny around his shoulders and smelled like Takuya.

"Eh. I couldn't sleep anyway," Takuya said.

Kouji snorted. "I told you so."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Takuya replied, sitting down with his back against the tree. Kouji looked over at him and frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm sitting here with you."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

Groaning in frustration, Kouji put his head back down on his knees. He had actually fallen asleep before, without even realizing it! It would have felt so good to actually wake up in the morning, after getting a full night's sleep. Trying not to think too hard, he closed his eyes.

He had almost forgotten about Takuya's presence when the other boy tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, Kouji?"

"What?" he snapped, turning around abruptly to face Takuya.

"What's bothering you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been acting funny recently."

"And you haven't been? You're always talking with Kouichi about something."

"Oh, is that what it is?"

"Is that what _what_ is?"

"This! This… _argument_. The way you've been acting. Is it just about me working with Kouichi?"

"No, it's not about my brother! I mean, I don't care if he helps us plan stuff, but…" Kouji paused. How was he supposed to put it?

"…you can't make plans on your own because they'll suck," he stated, "and we'll get lost and end up in a situation that you haven't thought about because all you want to do is _get there _and you don't stop and think…"

Takuya looked surprised. He scratched his head and blinked at Kouji, who was now glaring at him again.

"I tried to tell you the plan before, but you just walked away…" he said.

"I don't want to _know_ the plan, I want to actually be the person making it with you."

"Every time I've tried to get you to talk to me, you've been doing something with Kouichi."

"He _is_ my brother," Kouji said.

Takuya crossed his arms.

"You're always arguing with me."

"Because you're always wrong."

"I meant recently. More than usual. Why?"

Kouji, who had been ready to shoot back a sarcastic remark, hesitated.

"I… don't know."

Reaching out and grabbing his arm, Takuya looked Kouji in the eye.

"Look, Kouji, the reason I've been working with Kouichi is because you won't even let me finish a sentence before you tell me my planning is bad. Last time you acted like this was when we were fighting Duskmon, and at least you let me explain myself then. Now you're acting weird again, and I want to know why."

Kouji stared. Somehow, it always managed to surprise him when Takuya was dead serious about things, especially when they were fighting. He sighed and leaned back against the tree. Takuya let go of his arm.

"You know, before, when I was talking to Kouichi, I thought I'd figured something out that had been bothering me for a long time…"

"Yeah?" asked Takuya.

"…but I'm still not sure about it. I thought I was, but I was wrong."

"What is it?"

Kouji looked past Takuya, who was staring at him.

"It's nothing. Just a problem I've been thinking about."

Takuya snorted and moved so that he was kneeling in the grass, facing Kouji.

"Maybe I can help you solve it!"

"It's a little personal," Kouji said, avoiding Takuya's stare, "I'll tell you about it when I feel like telling you about it."

"See!" Takuya shouted, throwing his hands up in the air, "This is what you always do!"

"Can't you be a little more quiet?" Kouji asked, pointing in the direction of the group.

"Right, everyone's sleeping, I know," Takuya muttered, crossing his arms, "Did it ever occur to you that maybe if you told someone about your problems, they wouldn't be so hard for you to deal with?"

"I can't tell you about this one," Kouji said.

"Why not?"

"I just _can't_, okay, Takuya? Leave me alone, for the last time."

"Fine!"

Takuya stood up, brushing off his pants with short, quick motions.

"You can just sit here and think about your stupid problem," he said, clenching his fists, "I'm gonna go sleep."

"Good," Kouji said, closing his eyes.

"See you in the morning!"

"Go to sleep."

"That's what I'm doing!"

Kouji opened one eye and watched Takuya storm off. There was no way he was getting any sleep in that state. He closed his eyes again and wrapped Takuya's red jacket tighter around him.

It wasn't long before he heard footsteps approaching him. The footstep got steadily closer and faltered about two meters away.

Without opening his eyes, Kouji said, "What, Takuya?"

"That's creepy," Takuya said, sitting back down next to Kouji, this time on the same side of the tree.

"What do you want?"

"I got cold."

"I told you," Kouji said. He took one arm out of the jacket, "Here, put your arm in."

"We can't share it, are you crazy? It's not big enough, it'll tear!"

Taking off the jacket, Kouji held it up in front of him. He looked at Takuya.

"Move over."

"Why?"

"Just move over."

Takuya scooted over so that they were shoulder to shoulder. Kouji draped the jacket over both of them, giving Takuya slightly—but not noticeably—more of it.

"There. Now go to sleep."

"Right-o," Takuya yawned. He grinned mischievously at Kouji, "Can I do this?" he asked.

"Do wh--"

Before Kouji could even finish, Takuya had put his head on his shoulder.

"Uh... do I have a choice?"

Takuya didn't answer.

"You could just sleep by the fire, you know."

Nothing. Kouji knew he couldn't possibly be asleep already, but he decided not to bother him. He looked happy, at least.

Leaning so that his head rested on top of Takuya's, Kouji closed his eyes. Maybe tonight he'd finally get some sleep.

--

I feel like this was a boring chapter. I might be a bad judge of my own writing though… whatever. Generally I think, if it's boring to write, it will be boring to read. There was a lot of arguing and exposition… It's all set up for the next chapters, though. Stuff will happen, I promise!


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